Orchard Street grows into retail, residential mecca

Orchard Street on the border of Chinatown and the Lower East Side has seen something of a rebirth of late, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The three-block stretch of Orchard Street between Grand and Division streets is now seeing an influx of interest from such tenants as small business owners needing storefronts to restaurants and art galleries, as well as some property and development deals. Even big developers are looking to take advantage of this previously-ignored section of town.

Prior to this influx of activity, the area housed only garment shops.

So far, projects include a boutique hotel under construction, two properties being turned into residential and retail spaces and the opening of two new art galleries and a men’s tie shop. Owners are also looking for tenants for five ground-floor retail spaces and three large mixed-use buildings up for sale.

In addition, in July developers Waterbridge Capital and the Jangana family together bought three properties at 57-63 Orchard Street for $27 million, with plans to convert them into luxury condominiums and boutiques.

The largest construction project in the area is the conversion of the old Jarmulowsky Bank, a landmark building on the corner of Orchard and Canal, into a hotel. [WSJ]– James Comtois